Akari no Go
by Tennisbunnyrox
Summary: This time, it's Akari's story.
1. What's with Hikaru?

**A/N: **Hey! :) Ermm, well, I just kind of wondered what it would be like if Akari actually got good at go. I'm a go player myself, albeit not very good but I do know what I'm talking about(when it comes to go.) **This fanfic is going to follow the manga's plotline, and of course, my addition of events (Akari's stronger at Go than she was in the manga so that's already a huge difference. xD)**

Thanks for checking my story out!

**Reminders**

_this is someone's thoughts  
_

"speaking out loud"

**bolded is important(emphasis)**

If just single words are in italics, that means they are, most likely, go jargon.

* * *

**Akari no Go**

Chapter 1-_"What's up with Hikaru?"_

"Man, there's nothing good in here." Akari frowned at the crouched Hikaru, rummaging through dusty boxes. They were at Hikaru's grandfather's house.

"Hikaru, this place is kind of eerie..." She said, looking around nervously.

"You're such a scaredy-cat. Stop whining and help me look, Akari." Hikaru said. She pouted at him but the boy took no notice as his eye caught on something else. Hikaru took out a _goban _and set it on the ground of the attic.

"Hey, this looks good." He said. Akari leaned over to peer at the board.

"Oh, isn't this what you use to play chess?" She asked.

"No, you play _Go _on it. It's called a go board aka _goban._" Hikaru explained. He picked up the board, examining it. "Looks pretty old. Grandpa must have used this a long time ago." Then, he smirked. "I could sell this for a good amount of money."

"Eh, should you do that? What if your grandpa wants to keep it?" Akari disapproved and eyed Hikaru warily.

"It's totally fine." He said, grabbing a white cloth. "My parents cut my allowance because I scored 8% on the last test." Hikaru started to wipe down the goban.

"E-eight percent?! Hikaru..." She said in disbelief.

"Oi! Don't you start carping about it like my parents, miss I-scored-nearly-perfect."

Akari sighed. "You don't even have to study to get over half of the questions right. You just don't try, Hikaru." Hikaru stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes.

"What's with this stain? It isn't coming off." He furiously rubbed the board with the cloth.

"Stain? What stain? It's clean." Akari squinted her eyes at the board and couldn't see any stains. Hikaru pointed to the area around the corner of the board.

"Right here. These spots look like dried blood." He insisted.

"Where?" She squatted down beside Hikaru to look at the board closer.

"Here!" He emphasized where he was pointing. Akari furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.

"Hikaru, I don't-"

"That's what I've said!" Hikaru suddenly said. She looked at him quizzically. _Why did he suddenly say that...?_

"Hikaru...?" He shot up and looked around the room.

"Akari, there's someone here." He said. "Who is it? ...grandpa?"

"H-hey, stop saying weird things! You're not scaring me!" She said, feeling chills going down her body. Akari stood up and wrapped her arms around herself.

Hikaru's expression filled with incredulity and looked as if he was in a trance. Akari slowly reached out to Hikaru, and started to believe it wasn't an act.

Without warning, he fell to the ground, his face clearly in pain. She quickly rushed to his side, shaking him.

"Hikaru?!" She exclaimed, worried. "What happened?! Someone...someone, help Hikaru!"

The sirens of an ambulance could be heard.

* * *

Akari sat at her desk in school, looking out the window. She pondered about the day before, when Hikaru fainted and had to ride to the hospital. _Was there really a ghost? _She shivered just thinking about it. Akari settled for the explanation that he was overcome with a sickness.

Shifting her gaze to Hikaru, she saw his slumped form and occasional twitches. She frowned, concerned. _Maybe Hikaru hasn't recovered from yesterday yet. _

"Attention class!" The teacher called out. "Since everyone did badly on the last Social Studies test, we will have ANOTHER test today." Groans and complaints went around the classroom.

Akari's hand shot up. "Uhm, Hikaru fainted yesterday and even an ambulance came. He's not feeling too well." The class was suddenly animated with chatter.

"Whoa, Hikaru, you rode in an ambulance?!"

"That's so cool!"

They made several other comments.

"Everyone, settle down!" The teacher reprimanded. She turned towards Hikaru. "I understand you are not feeling well, Shindou-kun but try to complete this test, okay?"

Hikaru had a look of disdain on his face but complied with her.

Soon, the tests were all handed out and Akari immediately started working. The problems were similar to the last test so she did not have much trouble with it.

She looked up at Hikaru. He was scratching the back of his head. She silently giggled and knew that he was struggling with the test. Then, her motherly side came out and made a note to offer tutoring him.

Akari was on the last problem when Hikaru abruptly stood up, sprinting out of the classroom. She shot up out of her seat and ran out of the classroom after him.

"Hikaru! What's wrong?" She shouted after him. Hikaru, hunched over, barfed into the sink. Beside her, she saw the teacher and several students following behind.

"Shindou-kun, are you alright?" The teacher patted Hikaru's back gently. "You should go to the nurse's office."

"I-I'm fine..." He said but then leaned back in the sink to barf more. Everyone stepped back, appalled and disgusted.

"Gross! Get away from me, Hikaru!" One classmate said.

Akari cringed at how much he was throwing up. "Y-you're definitely not fine, Hikaru..."

After that predicament, Hikaru and the rest of his classmates returned to class and finished the test.

* * *

Outside on the steps of Hikaru's house, Akari rang the doorbell. Moments later, the door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with her dark hair tied in a low ponytail.

"Hello, Mitsuko-obasan!" She greeted Hikaru's mother. "Is Hikaru here?"

"Hello, Akari-chan." She said. "Well, no...recently he's been going over to his grandpa's house to play go."

"Go?" Shock was clear in Akari's voice.

"Yes, and he also signed up for a weekly go class. My, I don't know what's going on with him!" Mitsuko Shindou looked thoughtful.

"He doesn't seem like the type that would be interested in Go..." Akari mumbled.

"Right?" She replied. "I'm sorry he's not here, I'll tell him that you came."

"Thanks. Bye, Mitsuko-obasan!" Akari waved goodbye to her and skipped down the steps of the house. _Go, huh? Hikaru fainted the other day when he got that go board out. Funny now that he's starting to play go. _She stopped in her tracks, realizing something. _Wait, don't __tell me Go and the reason he fainted have some connection?! _Akari then giggled at herself, earning strange looks from people walking by. She decided that it would be too bizarre to believe.

Sitting herself down on a park bench, Akari observed two children playing in a sand-box. She then leaned back, putting both of her hands behind her head, and looked up at the sky.

"Why did he start playing it, anyway? It's just an old man's game..." Akari muttered.

* * *

"He's been weird lately..."

"Yeah, he actually got a good score on his Social Studies test..."

"He even got hit by a volleyball in P.E. when it's his specialty class!"

That was the chatter going around about Hikaru.

Akari approached Hikaru's desk in time to hear him say, "I've just had a lot of things going on lately."

"Like a Go class?" She said. He turned his head around, surprised.

"Huh? You knew about that?" He said. The other classmates overheard this and started to make a big deal out of it.

"Ehh, Hikaru, you're taking a Go class?"

"Whaat? Go is so lame and boring."

"You're a geezer."

They all made fun of him, causing Akari to frown.

"Hey! Don't judge him based on what he does!" She defended him.

"Oooh! Akari's defending her Hikaru!" One classmate said, teasingly.

"Akari likes Hikaru!" Another one chanted.

Akari's face flushed red and she became annoyed. "N-no I don't! What are you talking about?!" She raised her fist and chased them around the classroom. "Come back here!" They playfully made jokes about her and Hikaru. For some reason, it really affected her. _W-why do I care so much? It's not like I like Hikaru like _that_... _She looked over at Hikaru and caught his gaze. Akari looked at the ground, feeling her face heating up.

* * *

"Hey, Hikaru!" Akari ran up to catch up with him. He turned around, puzzled. It was after school and she decided to invite him to hang out. They haven't done so in a long time.

"What's up, Akari?" He greeted. She matched his pace beside him.

"Are you doing anything this weekend?" She asked.

"Well, I'm planning on going to a children's Go tournament..." Hikaru scratched his chin sheepishly. Akari's eyes widened. _It's Go, again? _

"Eh? Uh, are you participating in it?" She knew that he started Go recently so it would be impressive if he's already tournament-level.

"No, I'm just going to check it out." They paused at the school entrance. "So yeah, see you." Akari wasn't sure why but she felt the need to call out to him just as he turned his back.

"Wait!" She blurted out. Hikaru stopped and looked back at her. Suddenly, Akari was a bit nervous. "C-can I come along with you?" Internally, she was smacking herself because she knew she didn't actually want to go to the Go tournament but to hang out with him. _Man, am I really that desperate? I know nothing about Go! _

"Huh?" Hikaru's face screwed up in confusion. "But you don't even like Go. You confused a goban with a chess board a while back. Why do you want to come?" Akari flinched a little at his harshness.

"I...I just want to see why you've become so interested in it." Akari admitted. It was half the truth anyway. He looked contemplative for a moment before looking to his side and frowning. Finally, he sighed.

"Alright, I'll take you with me." Hikaru agreed. "But don't start complaining if you don't like it." She brightened at his words and nodded happily. Hikaru looked at her and snorted, thinking that Akari looked just like a puppy that was begging for treats and then got what it wanted.

* * *

That Sunday, Akari had dressed up in a cute outfit while waiting in the on the sidewalk for Hikaru. Her heart was beating fast. _W-why do I feel like this could turn into a date? _She covered her face with her hands. _What am I thinking?! A date?! That's...argh, hurry up, Hikaru! _She looked up and noticed Hikaru waving to her. Akari nervously waved back. They walked together towards the train station, chatting away.

Along the way to the tournament, Akari noticed that Hikaru seemed to make sudden movements and was mumbling to himself. She smiled nervously. _Could it be that he's lost his sanity ever since he fainted?_

Hikaru handed her the flyer to look at. It advertised a children's Go tournament with a picture of a hand holding a stone and a bunch of stores spread around the paper. Near the bottom, it stated the date, time, and place of the tournament. Akari looked at the Go stones on the flyer and then decided that this would be the time to learn something about Go.

"Hikaru, are these stones-?" She started. Hikaru immediately caught on and sighed.

"Those are Go stones. Black goes first in a game." He said. Akari made an 'oh' expression and nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Hikaru having some sort of conflict with something beside him. She looked over at him and saw nothing to his side.

"Hikaru?" She asked. He glanced at her, blushing slightly, and then straightened himself.

"S-since you're new to Go, I thought I would teach you a thing or two." He said. "Just so you don't embarrass me at the tournament."

Akari clapped her hands together in delight. "Wow, Hikaru, you do actually have a heart! But didn't you just start Go a little while ago?"

"Yeah but I'm better than you. Wait, what was that about me not having a heart?" Hikaru retorted.

"Geez, don't take it so personally." She giggled. He smirked at her.

Clearing his throat, Hikaru said, "So, basically the goal in Go is to claim as much territory as you can by surrounding an area with stones. The one with the most territory on the board wins. There are other things you can do to meet this, such as capturing pieces and attacking the opponent's territory." He paused for a minute and looked above him. Akari tilted her head in confusion and looked at the spot above him. There was nothing there. "You count territory with _moku_. Ermm...and then...there are things called handicaps." The train arrived at their stop, and Hikaru and Akari got off.

"_Things_?" She laughed at his diction. Hikaru pouted and she apologized. "Sorry, sorry, what are handicaps?"

"...uhm, it's so that if you face a stronger or weaker player, it will still be an even match. There's also a fixed system that Sa-I mean, I recently found out. It's called _komi. _White gets this komi, which is erm...6...6.5 moku because Black has the advantage of going first." He explained.

"Wow, I didn't know that." Akari was starting to get interested. "That means...wouldn't a beginner give an experienced player a tough time with a handicap?"

Hikaru laughed. "No way! An experienced player could totally catch up! Besides, a beginner would make lots of blunders."

Akari turned her attention away from Hikaru to look at a building nearby. She pointed at it. "Hey, I think that's it! 'Japanese Go Insitute', right?" Hikaru looked at the flyer for confirmation and nodded. They went inside and asked directions to the tournament room. Hikaru and Akari entered a spacious room with several tables filled with kids and parents standing at the side.

"Wow." Hikaru whispered. Akari's mouth gaped at the amount of children, some even younger than her, that were intensely focused on the game in front of them. The room was full with sounds of stones clicking the boards and clocks being pressed. _These kids look around the same age as me...and they're concentrating so hard on Go. That's...amazing. _Akari thought in awe. _There's a tense atmosphere in here...I don't get it, it's just a friendly tournament, right? _

She glanced over at Hikaru, who was as astounded as she was. He then looked over to the group of people standing at the sides. They looked seemed like relatives and friends of the children that were playing. Hikaru looked around and started walking off in a random direction. Akari looked startled and followed him.

"H-hey, isn't this incredible?" She whispered to him. He nodded, still glancing everywhere.

"Who are you looking for?" She asked.

Hikaru leaned in, and replied, "I played a guy my age at a salon before. I'm trying to see if he's here."

Akari nodded in understanding. "Who's the guy? Does he go to our school?" Their whisper conversation received a disapproving look from a man in suit. Akari and Hikaru bowed in apology. She noticed a band around his arm. _He must be a proctor or something..._

"Anyway, the guy's name is Touya Akira. His uniform looked like it belonged to some rich academy...uh, Kaim, was it?" Hikaru replied in a hushed whisper.

"...you mean. Kaio? I'd suspect that they would have a lot of go players." Akari tried to think back to where she heard something about Kaio. Didn't they have a Go club...?

Hikaru stopped the conversation there as he suddenly looked at a game in front of him. A boy placed his stone at 1-3.

"Oh, so close! You should have gone one above that!" He blurted out-loud. Hikaru realized what he said and clamped his mouth shut with his hand.

Akari widened her eyes at him. "Hikaru..." She said through gritted teeth.

Both of the boys playing the game looked at the board and processed what Hikaru said. "Oh..." They said.

The same man who saw them having their whisper conversation came and put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder. "Hey! What are you doing? This is a serious event, you can't interfere with a match!"

A blonde-haired man with glasses walked up to them and said, "Mori-san, calm down." He was wearing a suit also and had a ribbon on his chest. _He must be one of the sponsors, I suppose...?_ Akari quietly observed.

"Ogata-san, I'm taking these two out." Mori said, angrily.

Akari pointed at herself and said, "Eh? Me too?" The furious proctor dragged both of them out of the room while Akari was shedding comical tears. She knew that she wouldn't stay there without Hikari but she didn't like being blamed for something she didn't do.

They came into an office with a very important-looking man and another proctor were standing in.

Akari put her hand on Hikaru's head and forced him to bow with her. "We are very sorry for disturbing this important event!"

The important man spoke. "It's not that simple." He frowned. "A lot of children take this tournament very seriously."

Hikaru laughed nervously.

"This is not a laughing matter!" Mori said. Then he sighed. "Okay, you two can go now. Right, Kakimoto-sensei?" The man nodded.

Akari let Hikaru leave first and then paused at the doorway. "I'm very sorry for his actions. Goodbye!" She said.

As soon as they were a good distance away from the room, Akari punched him in the shoulder. Hikaru gave a yelp and rubbed his shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for?" He whined.

"What was that for? You got us kicked out!" Akari said.

"Why do you care so much? You didn't really care about coming here, did you?" He said. Akari couldn't contradict that, knowing that he was right.

"But I did ask you to take me here." She sighed. "We could just go get-" Akari noticed a man walking around the corner and Hikaru was about to collide into him.

"Hikaru watch ou-" But the warning was too late. Hikaru bumped into the man's chest and fell on his bottom.

"Ow..." He said. Akari looked up at the man that he bumped into. He was a tall man wearing a traditional kimono and had a menacing demeanor. Akari guessed that his age was around late 40s-50._ I don't know why but...I can feel_ _this guy is definitely someone not to be trifled with. _Akari didn't know what people meant when they could "feel" the aura of some people until now. The man's aura enveloped her and made her gulp nervously.

"Be more careful." He said and walked off. Akari and Hikaru stared at his back.

"Whew...I thought I was going to get yelled out, right, Sai?" Hikaru looked up to an empty space above him. Akari glanced at him.

"Sai?" She questioned.

Hikaru sputtered and quickly tried to correct himself. "Uh, Sai? Did I say Sai? I-I meant Akari!" She narrowed her eyes at him. _Yeah because 'Sai' and 'Akari' are totally similar. _Akari decided to not push the matter further but took note of his slip. She held out her hand to help him up.

"But that man...seemed powerful, didn't he?" She mused.

"Yeah, pretty scary." Hikaru agreed. They walked in silence until Akari spoke up.

"Wanna go get something to eat?"

* * *

**A/EN:  
**Annnndddd that was the end of the first chapter. As you can tell, I don't proof-read my chapters because I just don't have time to do so. So it's full of errors and I apologize for that. xD **If anyone is willing to beta-read this story, I would be glad to accept your help(I could, like, draw something or write a short fic in return...something like that.)**

Speaking of which, I would appreciate it if you checked my other story too, which is **Life As Yui Komori**. If you have checked out Diabolik Lovers or at least know of it, then please give a read and tell me how it is. ^^

**Leave a review with any thoughts or questions! :)**


	2. Intense Match

**A/N: Different POVs! A lot of face-palming. (I looked over this a few times and fixed some errors. Please let me know if you spot any grammatical errors/spelling mistakes!)  
**

* * *

**Akari no Go **

Chapter 2-_"Intense Match"_

Sitting alone in his father's salon, Akira replayed his match between Hikaru again. He lost track of how many times he analyzed the boy's moves.

"Yes, he's here but...he keeps replaying _that _one game in the corner over there." He heard Ichikawa say.

"_That _one game?...Oh, the one he lost to a kid his age?" Akira identified the voice as Hirose, a middle-aged man that he would occasionally teach go. He flinched a little at his words.

_That's right...it's the first time I've lost a game to someone my age. By 2 moku! It seemed like a close match but..._Akira played a few more hands. He stared at them in disbelief. _It's like that boy was playing _Shidougo_ with me. _Biting on his fingernail, Akira began to feel a bit nervous. There was another feeling inside of him that he couldn't quite describe...was it...excitement? He couldn't believe that was truly Hikaru's ability. _Shindou Hikaru...I need to confirm it for myself. _Determination burned quietly in his eyes. _If you are really a monster or not! _

"Akira-kun." Ishikawa's footsteps sounded behind him. He didn't look up at her. "Hirose-san would like to play Shidougo with you."

"W-well if Akira-sensei isn't busy..." Hirose said, nervously.

Akira already made up his mind. "Sorry but..." He trailed off.

"You're waiting for that boy, aren't you? I...guess you can't do much since you only know his name." Ishikawa said. Akira knew she was right and didn't say anything. It frustrated him that waiting was the only thing he can do. _How long can I wait? How long until this energy I have within me burns out? _

Ishikawa perked up, as if she remembered something. "Oh yes! I remember I gave the boy a flyer for the Children's Go Tournament!" She said. "I...don't know if he went but he may have gone there."

"The tournament today?" Akira asked. Ishikawa nodded in confirmation. He suddenly burst out of his chair and ran towards the exit. "Ishikawa-san! If he happens to come here, don't let him leave, please!"

Ishikawa and Hirose stood there, shocked, as they watched the door close. "Akira-kun's...changed."

Hirose agreed. "Well, this is the first time he has a _real_ rival."

* * *

"...and there was that one really funny guy! Err, what was his name? Did you watch last night's variety show?" Hikaru said, in between bites of his burger. The two of them were at WcDonalds eating an early lunch. Akari was sipping on her cherry soda, sighing at Hikaru's blabbering.

"Why would I watch a stupid show like that?" She sighed.

"It's nwaff stoopid!(It's not stupid!)" He protested, still in the midst of chewing. Pieces of lettuce and bread from his mouth came flying at Akari. She cringed and whined in disgust.

"Ewww Hikaru! Don't talk while you're eating!" She yanked out a napkin from the dispenser and furiously scrubbed at her hands, where the food landed. "You know what, I'm going to the bathroom to wash my hands." Akari stood up, walking to the restrooms. Hikaru stuck his tongue out at her back.

"She's overreacting." He mumbled, chomping on his burger again. Sai came over to sit beside him after admiring and exploring the fast food restaurant.

"Hikaru, hikaru! They have a strange contraption by that huge table over there!" He pointed at the island that was directly across from the ordering counter. It contained the soda refill machine, napkins, utensils, and various other items.

Hikaru sighed, glancing at where Sai was pointing. "That's just where you refill your soda. Relax, Sai."

"But...but...strange fizzing came out when people pushed the button! That's dangerous!" Sai flailed his arms around in shock.

"That's what I've been saying...it's _soda._" Hikaru face-palmed.

Finally, Sai settled down. "It's amazing...how far humans have developed." He watched all the different people interact with one another in the restaurant. "The atmosphere has changed...it's more friendlier. More comforting." He gave a small smile as a young girl ran up to her parents with an ice cream cone and a big grin on her face. "Speaking of which...THE GO TOURNAMENT!" Sai shouted in Hikaru's ears.

"Alright, I get it already!" He shouted right back at him, making a few people frown in his direction. Hikaru would blush and return to what he was doing quietly but he just couldn't take it anymore. Sai was constantly complaining about it, even when the topic had been changed. "Besides, you were the one who said it in my head!"

"But you actually said it out-loud!" Sai retorted.

"Oh yeah?! You're going there, huh?" Hikaru accused. "You wanna come at me?! No more go for you!" By this point, witnesses of Hikaru arguing with himself decided to just ignore the poor boy.

At last, their bickering settled down, with Hikaru grabbing his soda and facing the other direction, away from Sai. He took a sip of his drink angrily and looked out the window, catching the sight of a familiar face peering at him. He choked on his soda and developed into a coughing fit.

"Hikaru, that's the young boy!" Sai said. _Yeah, I know...Touya...what's he doing here? _Hikaru pulled himself together.

Akira walked through the front door and strode up to him. Hikaru looked up at him, smiling sheepishly. "Yo, Touya...what's up?"

"Uhm..." It was silly of Akira to become speechless when he knew exactly what he wanted, just not how to phrase it.

"You weren't in the tournament?" He asked.

"No. What about you?" Akira said.

"Uh, I was just checking it out." A silence drifted between them so Hikaru decided to keep talking. "But man, that was the first time I've been to something like that...it was surprising seeing kids younger than me so serious about go." Akira's eyes widened. "It was really awesome. I was impressed."

"You've...never been serious before?" He asked, incredulous.

Hikaru lifted his eyebrow in question. "Serious?"

Akira hesitated before asking, "Can I see your hand?" Hikaru frowned but gave him his hand anyway. _There's no sign of his fingernails wearing down. It doesn't look like he handles go stones often. _His mind drifted back to Ishikawa making a comment about how Hikaru had never played go before. Akira frowned, not sure what to make of this.

"A-are you going to become a pro?" He asked.

"P-pro?" Hikaru then burst out laughing. "Me? A pro? Are you serious? Ha, I've never even thought of that before. Good one, Touya."

Akira narrowed his eyes. "I plan on becoming a pro." The amused boy stopped laughing and turned towards him, surprised.

"Oh...do go pros make a lot of money? Like prize money for winning a tournament or something?" Hikaru asked.

"The prize money for winning the Meijin tournament is 28 million yen($250,300)." Akira stated, coldly. Hikaru's mouth dropped in an 'O', suddenly interested.

"The Kisei tournament is 33 million($322,542)." He continued.

Hikaru waved his hands in front of him, signaling Akira to pause. "Whoa, whoa, wait. How many tournaments are there? How much money do you get if you win all of those?"

"There are 8 titles, and the total amount of money is about 120 million yen($1,172,880)." Suddenly, Hikaru's eyes turned into dollar signs at the sound of 120 million yen. He cackled evilly. _Sai, you can win all of those tournaments, right? _Sai frowned and objected his thoughts.

"You would only play go for money?! You're terrible, Hikaru!" He exclaimed.

"Well...I might just become a pro..." Hikaru was still infatuated with the thought of earning the big bucks. "And then grab a few titles, ya know?"

Akari chose that certain timing to exit the bathroom. She was about to call out to Hikaru when she noticed he was talking to a dark-haired boy beside him. _I wonder who that guy is..._Going over to them to introduce herself, Akari halted when she noticed the scary look on the boy's face.

"Might just become a pro? Grab a few titles?" Akira repeated in disbelif, anger boiling inside of him. "...those words are an insult to all the current pros."

Hikaru stepped back, shocked. _Insult? Sai, did I say something wrong? _

Sai face-palmed. "Hikaru, you idiot..."

"There's no way...there's no way a person like you could become a pro! A real go player wouldn't say something like that so casually!" Akira started his rant. "Saying something like that half-heartedly...do you even realize how much work is put in to become a pro?! Pain, disappointment, failure...there are players that work _so _hard to overcome these obstacles and yet STILL are unable to achieve a certain level. I have seen these kinds players myself." He gritted his teeth. "And yet you..." Akira was started to calm down and get a grip on himself. "I too, have worked hard to prepare myself. Everyday, since I was small, it didn't matter what the circumstances were, I played go for hours." He looked up at Hikaru, now noticing that the boy did not have the same fire of determination in his eyes. Akira wanted to laugh at himself for getting worked up over him.

Sai then noticed Akari standing nearby and greeted her. "Oh, Akari-chan! Don't mind them, Hikaru just said something foolish." Of course, she didn't respond, and Sai gave her a small smile.

_Wow..._Akari was stunned by Akira's rant. She had no idea that it was that difficult to become a go pro. _Why are they talking about becoming a pro anyway? Don't tell me, Hikaru..._

Her thoughts were interrupted by Akira. "Let's play a game right now." He said.

Hikaru was uneasy. _Right now...? But I just went to that go tournament. Hmm..._

"HIKARU! You got us kicked out of the tournament!" Sai yelled at him. "Let's play!"

Akira took his silence as him being afraid. "I will become a pro." He stated. "If you think you can easily become a pro...then you can't possibly lose to me here. Don't run away, Shindou Hikaru!" He held out his hand towards Hikaru, who reluctantly accepted.

Before Akira could drag away him, Akari thought it was time to step in because none of them noticed her. "H-hey! Hikaru, you can' t just leave me here!" She pouted.

Hikaru looked at Akari, pulling away from Akira. "A-Akari! Forgot that you were still here!"

She put her hands on her hips. "What do you mean you 'forgot'?"

Akira looked at her, surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to borrow Shindou for a while. I'm Touya Akira. Your name is?" He said politely, and held out his hand.

Akari was taken aback by the boy's politeness after seeing his furious rant from before. "You can call me Akari." She replied, shaking his hand. Akari suddenly felt shy. "Oh, uhm, can I go with you guys? Hikaru," she glared sharply at the boy, "was supposed to hang out with me today but got us kicked out of the go tournament so it kind of sucks to go back home now." Akira glanced at Hikaru was clearly was against the idea.

"Akari you go ho-mmph!" Sai covered Hikaru's mouth with his sleeve and scolded him.

"You can't leave a lady alone! Allow her to accompany us; it won't be bad for her to see a match." He said.

Hikaru sighed. "Fine...you can come along with us."

"Hey, hey, what's with that tone of reluctance?" She asked, suspicious.

"Nothing~" Hikaru sang, locking his hands behind his head. He walked out first, and then stopped to look at the two behind him. "You coming, Touya?"

Akira and Akari looked at each other. She then pointed to herself. "Me? What about me? You're not addressing me?"

"I don't need to address you."

"What does that mean?!"

The two arguing childhood friends walked beside each other, shooting insults back and forth. Although Akira's resolve to defeat Hikaru hadn't died, he had to crack a small smile at them. He felt a bit envious at their closeness.

_I have go. That's enough...right? _

* * *

Akari followed Hikaru and Akira into a go salon by the train station. There was a woman that greeted them as they walked in.

"Welcome...Akira-kun!?" The woman exclaimed, seeing Hikaru behind him.

"We'll play in the back." He said. They got the attention of all the go players in the room. Several of them whispered and recognized Hikaru as the 'kid who beat Akira'. Hikaru and Akari were equally shocked by the attention they were getting.

"W-whoa, hold on!" Hikaru said. _What the heck? All of these guys are crowded around our table! _

"Please sit down." Akira said, already seated at the board and ready to go. Akari went to stand behind Hikaru since most of the players had crowded behind Akira.

"Hikaru, are you sure you'll be fine? I mean, this crowd..." She whispered in his ear. Hikaru glanced up at her, wary.

"I'll be fine, totally fine! Probably..." Akari shot him a worried look. "Anyway, this guy isn't even nervous. He's not normal, I tell ya."

"What's the point of telling me that?" She sighed, patting his shoulder. "Good luck, Hikaru." Akari stood back, spectating. She put her finger on her chin, thinking. _Touya-san doesn't seem like your average kid, that's for sure. He seems pretty confident in his go skills. How is Hikaru going to beat him? _

"Let's play an even match. I'll _nigiri_." Akira said.

"Nigiri?" Hikaru was confused. Sai sighed.

"Basically, you do this to determine who's black and who's white." Akira explained, remembering that Hikaru was a 'beginner'. He still couldn't quite believe it. "I grab a random amount of stones in my hand and you have to guess if it's an even or odd number by placing one or two stones on the board."

"If I get it right, am I black?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes." Hikaru placed two stones on the board and Akira started counting his stones. "...it's 12. Even."

"Heck yeah! I got it right!" He whooped. Akari face-palmed at him.

"The komi is standard."

"...6.5 moku, right?" Akira nodded. Hikaru glanced up at Sai. _You better not forget about it this time. _

"There was never such a rule back in Shuusaku's time." He defended. _Still...you didn't think to suspect that black had an advantage. _

The anticipated match was finally starting. Sai gave orders for Hikaru for the first move. "Upper right _kosumi_.*" He said. Hikaru, gripping the stone like a beginner, placed the stone at 17-3.

Three minutes later, Akira placed his first move. There was a quiet gasp, and Akari looked up at the people behind him. They looked surprised that Akira took so long for the first move. _So it's not normal to spend that much time thinking for a move...I was about to fall asleep in those three minutes! _She glanced at Hikaru's next move which was a lower right kosumi. Akari had to hold back her laughter when she saw his grip on the stone. _Yup, yup, a total beginner. Touya-san holds the stone much more elegantly. _She glanced at Akira and was stunned by his fierce glare. Looking over to Hikaru, she noticed that he was sweating nervously under his scrutiny. _Uwahh, he's really mad at Hikaru. I guess that dummy said something stupid again. _

Only for about a few more moves did Akira bend his head down and resign. He clutched the stones on the board and messed the game up. Akari gaped and Hikaru could only sit there in shock. _It's over already?! But...this game only went half as far as the first time we played! _

"I won." That was all Sai said. _Dude...Sai, you beat him that bad? _Silence enveloped the room for a while. The go players behind Akira looked at one another in astonishment. _Hikaru won...right? I couldn't tell what was going on at all but it seems that he beat him pretty badly... _Akari thought. _But Hikaru's a beginner...how is that..._

Hikaru stood up. "Touya, you're incredible. The intensity in each of your moves...I could feel it! The kids at the tournament too...and..." He frowned, trailing off. Akira wasn't listening to him. "I'm going now...bye, Touya." He turned to Akari. "Let's go, Akari."

Akari took one last glance at Akira, feeling pity for him. _Of course he would be devastated...he looked so determined to beat Hikaru...not to mention that Hikaru said something insulting to him. That must hurt a lot. _She announced her leave, quickly bowing, before running after Hikaru.

Akira sat there, thinking back to his conversation with his father as a child.

_'Father ..do I have talent for go?' He asked._

_His father chuckled. 'I do not know if you have talent but...there are two things that greater aspects.' He patted Akira's head. 'One, is the ability to work harder than anyone else. Two, is the undying love for go.' _

Akira has always kept those two aspects in mind and continued to move forward but now, he hit an obstacle. He clenched his fists. _Father...I've hit a big, invisible wall. _

* * *

The next school day, Akari noticed that Hikaru went back to being oddly distracted.

"Are you thinking about your match with Touya-san?" She asked.

"Huh? Uh..." He looked guilty. "Yeah..."

"...you don't have to look so guilty about it. You beat him fair and square, right? But the least you could do was apologize for riling him up." She said.

"Fair and square..." Hikaru mumbled. "Wait, what was that about apologizing?"

"I saw Akira yelling at you at WcDonald's. Something about being a go pro?"

"Oh yeah, that..." He scratched his chin. "You know what, I think I'm going to drop by the go salon again."

"Well, unfortunately this time I can't go with you. Remember to apologize!" Akari started to head the other way from the train station.

"Would said I wanted you to go with me?" He scoffed and walked away. "Later."

"Bye! I'll throw a pot at your head the next time I see you!" Hikaru whipped his head around.

"What the heck did you say?!"

"Nothing~" Akari said in a sing-song voice, skipping away.

Hikaru shook his head. "And she says I've changed...Akari's become a lot scarier and rebellious."

Sai nodded in agreement, his face hidden behind his fan. "Girls in this era are more blunt and ostentatious. But that's not a bad thing! Women weren't really equals in my era and also in Torajirou's."

"Torajirou? " Hikaru was unfamiliar with that name.

"Torajirou is Shuusaku's birth name. He later changed his name to what people know him by now."

"Oh...I see. Well, let's go see Touya._"_

* * *

**A/EN:  
***Kosumi: Means_ diagonal move_. In this case, Sai used this as an opening move but it can also be used for capturing, attacking, etc. other stones. Hikaru placed the stone diagonal to the third _hoshi_, or star point. Sai's second move was similar, just lower down on the board.

I hope this chapter wasn't too boring as it did stick pretty closely to the original story. Nothing new happened in this chapter, except for the fact that Akari witnesses all of this. I look forward to putting in my own scenes in the next chapter! ^w^

**Any comments or questions? Leave a review or send me a PM.**


	3. The Festival

**A/N: I have no idea if Kumoko was Akari's friend in elementary school in canon but in this story I'm making it that way. xD  
**

**Kumoko Tsuda, btw, if you don't remember, was Akari's friend in Haze Middle. She has short, light brown hair, and appears timid. Akari dragged her to the go club. **

**I know Akari's dog in the manga wasn't a Labrador Retriever but...it kind of looked like one...I'm sorry, I'm not a dog expert so I'm just going to make it one! ehe :9 **

* * *

**Akari no Go **

_Chapter 3-"The Festival"_

Akari was absorbed in reading a magazine in a bookstore when her friend, Kumoko, who was nearby, called out to her.

"Hey, Akari!" She looked up and saw the girl waving her hand at her and holding a book in her other hand. "Did you know they have the latest volume of _Today's Love_?" Akari widened her eyes and squealed in delight.

"Really?! Kumoko-chan, you do not know how _much _I love that manga!" She dashed over to her friend and took the manga from her hand. The art on the cover depicted a young man with blonde hair and a starry-eyed girl in his arms. Akari was a sucker for cheesy, romantic shoujo manga.

"Did you want to get anything else?" She looked at the two thin novels Kumoko was carrying. Kumoko shook her head. "Alright then. Let's go checkout because this manga is all I need." Akari held the volume up, worshiping it. Her friend giggled.

When the two girls put their purchases on the counter, Akari's eye caught on something familiar. Sitting on the rack beside the checkout register was a book with a go game in progress on it. The title read, The Basics of Go. She didn't what prompted her to grab it and put it down with their purchases; perhaps it was because she felt frustrated not knowing what was going on in Hikaru and Akira's game she watched the other day. _It wouldn't hurt to learn a bit about it...right? _

Kumoko saw her friend's actions, surprised when she saw the book. Then, she looked up at her strangely. "Akari-chan...?"

Walking out of the store after purchasing their books, Kumoko decided to ask Akari about the book.

"Are you interested in go, Akari-chan?" Akari blinked at her and looked a little flustered.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I suppose so. It's not really like me, I know, but I thought I would at least give it a shot." She said.

"Hmm...I don't have a reliable source but I heard Hikaru-kun plays go..." Kumoko said.

"Yeah, it's true. It was kind of shocking when I found out, to tell you the truth." Akari said, looking up at the sky as they walked. "I mean, it's Hikaru we're talking about! That numbskull scored 8% on the Social Studies test. _Eight_ percent!" She sighed. "How can he play an intellectual game like go?"

Kumoko shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he's just suited for that. I know there are some famous chess players who are really good at the game but didn't get very good grades in school."

"Still..." Suddenly, Kumoko felt very mischievous. She nudged Akari with her elbow, a smirk on her face.

"Hey, Akari-chan, don't tell me...you're interested in go because of Hikaru? Eh? How about it?" She teased. Akari raised her eyebrows and felt words get stuck in her throat.

"T-that's not...well of course he started before me but..." She sputtered, her face turning a darker shade of red every time she tried to deny the accusation. Eventually, she just sighed and admitted it. "Yeah, Hikaru was the one who introduced me to go...indirectly. I got intrigued by the game and thought, well, if he can do it, why can't I? And stuff..."

Kumoko smiled. "You can do it! With your smarts, you'll pick it up quickly." Akari smiled meekly at her compliment.

"I hope so. Because now, go makes no sense to me."

* * *

To other people walking past Hikaru in the park, it looked like the boy was talking to himself and playing with stones. In Hikaru's perspective, he was talking to Sai as the ghost urged him to practice placing down the stones in the park as if they were go stones. A little while before, Sai had, through Hikaru, played a short opening game with Touya Kouyo, the current holder of the Meijin title. Unexpectedly, Hikaru had made a move of his own, holding the stone between his fingers the correct way. The poor boy couldn't believe that he had just placed a stone on the board correctly and dismissed it as being possessed, dashing out of the room in a horrified state. Sai, however, assured Hikaru that it was his own ability that allowed him to make that kind of move. He was slightly intrigued at the move he made; it wasn't a bad move but it wasn't a good move either. Only if the game played out would Sai be able to tell.

Akari was taking her Labrador Retriever, Tsuki, out for a walk, hoping that she bumped into Hikaru in the neighborhood and give him a ticket to the Haze Jr. High festival. She went to his house first, and when he wasn't there, she sighed, wondering what she expected. _He's probably still playing with Touya-san...is he starting to become a go freak? _

In the corner of her eyes, she spotted him standing in a park talking to himself. _There he goes again, why is he talking to himself more often now? It's kind of creepy..._Akari comically sweat-dropped.

"Hikaru!" She called out.

Hikaru turned around at the sound of his name and greeted Akari. "Yo, Akari."

"Were you playing Touya-san until this late?" She approached him, tugging on Tsuki's leash.

He scratched his head. "Uhm, well, I did play a 'Touya'." Akari cocked her head in confusion.

"You remember the man I bumped into when we were leaving the go tournament? Well, apparently he's Touya Meijin; Touya's dad! Argh, too many Touyas!" Hikaru complained but he's eyes had a faint glimmer. Akari giggled. "But Touya Meijin was super awesome! Like, every move was like BAM and I swear it shook the earth!"

"So how did the match go?" She asked, entertained by Hikaru describing Touya Meijin's play.

He smiled sheepishly. "Err, well...I kind of...ran out in the middle of the game." Akari's eyes widened.

"What? Why did you do that?"

"Things here and there...and..." Hikaru trailed off, not knowing how to explain what happened. He glared up at Sai, finishing his sentence in his thoughts. _...Sai took over my body and played a move. _

"I didn't do it, Hikaru!" Sai protested, playfully hitting him on the shoulders.

Akari raised an eyebrow but didn't push the subject further. "Touya Meijin...is that his name? Touya-san's father...speaking of Touya-san, did you get to speak to him?"

"No...I think it's..." Hikaru glanced at Sai. "His real name is Touya Kouyo, 'Meijin' is just a title he earned as a go pro. As for Touya...no. I went to the salon looking for him but instead I bumped into his dad!"

"I see...oh wait! I almost forgot!" Akari dug into her pockets to show 2 thin pieces of paper. "Here. Take one." Hikaru warily took one.

"What's this?" He read the writing on the ticket; 'Haze Junior High School Festival! Food ticket for one person.'

"It's a free food ticket for Haze Jr's festival. My sister gave me some tickets and I thought I would give you one." She explained.

Hikaru frowned, starting to hand the ticket back to Akari. "Nah...no thanks..."

"What? B-but Hikaru, you never reject free food!" Akari's emotions were full of shock and a little dismay at the thought of him not going.

He glared at her, slightly offended. "You think you can convince me to go just because you're offering me free food? Tsk, tsk, it's not that easy, Akari."

"But last time-"

"Ahhh, I'm so hungry. I'll think I'll eat some ramen when I get home." Hikaru locked his hands behind his head and started to walk off.

Akari stormed up to him, took his hand, and shoved the ticket into it. "Just for when if you do come, you won't starve there. Sunday at 2p.m. Got it?" She turned her head away and marched off in the opposite direction.

"Akari, your house is the same way as mine." Hikaru said, holding back his laughter. She blushed and turned around, speeding past him with an annoyed look on her face.

He looked at the free food ticket in his hand and shook his head.

"Hikaru, maybe you should go. She went out of her way to invite you." Sai said, frowning at him blunting rejecting Akari.

"No way, people would tease me if they saw me with a girl..."

Sai smiled gently. "Maybe Akari-chan likes you." Hikaru immediately felt a shiver down his spine.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SAYING?!" He shouted, bewildered. "Don't say that, I'll kill you!"

"I don't think children should make that threat but I'm already dead..." Sai rolled his eyes.

"Did you just call me a child?! I'm not a child!"

"You are a child, Hikaru."

"No I'm not!"

* * *

That Sunday, Akari decided that Hikaru wasn't going to come so she just went and had fun with Kumoko and her other friend, Sayaka. They were at a takoyaki stand when Akari noticed another particular stand. A black-haired boy with glasses was sitting down at the table, holding a book in one hand and placing stones on a goban with his other hand. His eyes switched back and forth between the book and the board. A table beside him held a variety of things and a white cloth draped from it, reading, "Igo". A small line of elderly people were gathered around the stand. _Ehh...so they even have a go club. But it seems like that boy is the only one there. _

"Sorry Kumoko-chan, Sayaka-chan, can you guys go on without me? I want to check something out..." Akari said, her eyes drifting off towards the go stand. Kumoko saw exactly what she was looking at and smiled.

"We understand. Come on, let's go, Sayaka-chan." She said, dragging Sayaka along with her. "Have fun, Akari-chan."

Akari made her way to the go stand, peering at the board. Only one part of the board had stones set up and the elderly man sitting at the table was placing stones around it.

"Ah, I know this! It's a _tsume-go _problem, isn't it?" She blurted. Akari started to read her go book recently and learned a lot of terminology, as well as being able to solve a few tsume-go problems*.

The boy looked up at her in delighted surprise. "Yes, it is." He looked down again at the elderly man's answer. "But what if white goes here?"

The man scratched his head. "Oh yeah...this is quite difficult." He chuckled, getting out of the seat. The boy with the glasses then looked up at Akari.

"Would you like to try?" He smiled at her. Akari gave him a nervous smile.

"Uhh, I'm not very good though...but I'll try." She hesitantly sat in the empty seat and took a look at the problem on the board. Akari could feel the older people crowding around her. _I suddenly feel very nervous...  
_

_Okay, calm down, Akari. I can do this...I'm playing as black...it looks like a basic problem. Let's see..._She placed her first move at 18-2._  
_

"Okay. What if white takes the stone?" The boy asked, taking the black stone at 17-2. Akari paused, analyzing the cluster of stones for a few moments. She blinked and then it hit her.

"Ah! I go here!" She placed her stone at 19-4, successfully avoiding white's threat of taking a bigger cluster of stones and at the same time, attacking the white.

"Very good. And if white fills the eye*?" He placed his stone at 17-3, where he had captured her stone before.

"I go here!" Akari was getting more comfortable and no longer felt tense or nervous about getting it wrong. She placed her stone at 17-1. White then placed it at 16-1 but it could not escape it's fate of being captured. The last move, 15-1 took all of white's stones.

"Good job." He gave her a pack of tissues. "It's your prize for solving this tsume-go problem." The elderly folk around her applauded for her.

"Nice going, young lady!" One man said. She blushed in embarrassment at the attention she was getting. She turned back to the boy.

"Uhm...could I try another problem?"

* * *

Hikaru was walking around stuffing himself with food when he recognized the back of Akari's head.

"Hey! That's Akari! She told me to come but she didn't even wait for me. Well, not like I care, I got free food." He said, slurping on his yakisoba noodles.

Sai looked closer at the stand she was at. "Hikaru! Look there's a go stand! Akari-chan's at it!" He pointed at it with his fan, jumping around excitedly.

That made Hikaru choke on his noodles. "Eh...ACK..." He coughed. "Wait...Akari...i-is at a go stand?" He walked up behind her just in time to see her solve a problem.

"Here's a can of soda as a prize." Akari thanked him and accepted it. "What grade are you in, Akari-chan?"

"Eh? I'm in 6th grade right now." She replied.

"You should come to Haze Jr. and join the go club next year. I think you would be very good." He said, smiling at her.

Akari blushed slightly. "R-really? Now, if Hikaru heard that..."

"Hear what?" She whipped her head around to see him standing behind her. Akari let out a gasp of surprise.

"Hikaru! You actually came!" She exclaimed.

"Well yeah, due to _someone_ pestering..." Hikaru shifted his eyes to Sai, too preoccupied with the go stand to hear him. Akari just blinked at him.

"Akari, you played go?" He stared at the prizes in her hand. She shook her head.

"Not really. I was just reading a go book and picked up a few things."

"Why were you reading-" Akari got up and gestured for him to sit.

"You should try a problem, Hikart. They're fun!" She pushed him into her seat and looked at the boy with glasses. "Ah, this here is Tsutsui-san, he's a second-year at Haze Jr. and in the go club. Tsutsui-san, this is Hikaru, who recently started go."

"Nice to meet you, Hikaru-kun." Tsutsui said.

"Yo." Hikaru nodded. Akari sighed.

"Hikaru, Hikaru, look!" Sai nudged him and then pointed to a book sitting on the table. The book read, Touya Meijin's Go Tutorial.

"Oh yeah, I noticed that and I wondered about it. Touya Meijin is famous, Hikaru?" Akari asked, noticing his line of eyesight.

"One of the most famous go players out there. He holds multiple titles but is commonly known his Meijin title. He's also considered one of the world's top players." Tsutsui explained.

"Ehh..." Akari said, in awe. "Hikaru didn't you pla-"

"AHHHH! Right, can you give me a problem for that book?" He asked, cutting her off. She pouted.

"T-that's the hardest problem." Tsutsui adjusted his glasses and flipped through his go book. He started to place the stones in formation on the board. "You'd have to be at Touya Akira's level to solve this one."

Hikaru and Akari were startled at the mention of his name. "Touya Akira?! I know him, is he that incredible?" Hikaru said.

"Incredible? Very. I heard he's going to take the upcoming pro exam and that he teaches go to adults." Tsutsui replied.

"His face while he's playing is so serious it's almost scary..." Hikaru commented, thinking back to Sai's and Akira's match.

"Go ahead and try this problem. First hand is key." Tsutsui said, nonchalantly.

As Hikaru was about to analyze the board, a figure loomed over him.

"The first hand..." The unknown boy said, taking out his chewed gum. "is here, isn't it?" He stuck his gum on the goban.

Tsutsui looked up and recognized the boy, furious. "Ahhh! What are you doing, Kaga!"

Kaga just smirked, flicking his cigarette butt on the ground. "You should just quit this shit. Go's boring."

* * *

**A/EN:*****tsume-go problems** are problems that involve you to get your cluster of stones(either black or white) to be either 'alive'(meaning that they cannot be captured; ex: by creating two eyes) or enabling you to capture the opponent's cluster of stones. Basically, the life or death of a territory sums it up pretty well.

*An '**eye**' is the empty point surrounded by a single color of stone. Ex: It takes 4 black stones to surround one white stone and once black completely surrounds the stone, the stone is taken off the board, and the space that is left is called an eye.

**If you wanted to view the tsume-go problem that Akari solved in this chapter, check my twitter account totalfangirlJLZ. It will be the first go picture you see under Photos.  
**

Wow, I feel like I've spit out these chapters like crazy. I usually take a long time to complete a chapter of my other fanfic but I guess I wasn't feeling it as much as I do with this fanfic. I really like Hikaru no Go, and go so I'm really excited to write this(and excited for Akari's improvement!)

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	4. Kaga vs Hikaru

**Akari no Go**

Chapter 4-"_Kaga vs. Hikaru_ "

"Touya Akira? Hah, he's nothing! I've beaten him before!" Kaga exclaimed.

Akari and Hikaru shared a confused and surprised glance.

Then, Tsutsui spoke. "That's Kaga. He used to attend the same Go class as Touya Akira but he's now...in the shougi club." He said the last part quietly. "Not a lot of people know Touya Akira personally since he doesn't take part in amateur Go tournaments."

"...Touya lost? Even though he's at a pro's level?" Hikaru mumbled. Behind him, Sai was getting excited.

"He solved a difficult Go tsumego easily." Sai thought. He waved his kimono sleeves around in anticipation. "Hikaru, if we play him, we can learn his level! Let's play!"

"He lost because I'm strong. Idiot." Kaga drawled. Hikaru sputtered, shocked at being called an idiot.

"I'll slice this boy in half for putting gum on the goban! Come on, Hikaru~. Let's play!" Said whined, pestering Hikaru.

"SHUT UP!" He accidentally shouted outloud, causing everyone around him to look at him, puzzled. He quickly put a hand over his mouth.

Akari nervously smiled at him, already used to his frequent but random outbursts.

Kaga turned to Tsutsui. "Hey, what's going on with the Go club you're forming?"

"Forming?" Hikaru and Akari looked at Tsutsui.

"You were all pumped up when you found out they would let you have a club if you got three members and entered the team tournament." Kaga went on. He leaned over the goban, smirking at Tsutsui. "Since it's this situation, I'll enter. You know my ability, Tsutsui. I'm 1000 times stronger than you."

Tsutsui frowned at him, annoyed by his cockiness. "I don't want the help of a guy who puts a chewed piece gum on a goban."

Kaga stood up, and scoffed. "Hah! Exactly _who_ was it that was begging me the other day to enter the tournament?"

The kind middle-schooler glared at him. "Take your book and leave!" Tsutsui shoved a book towards Kaga. He took it, scanning the cover.

"Touya Meijin's Go Book?" He read. Suddenly, the red-haired boy started to tear out the pages of the book and threw the book on the ground, stomping on it.

"I. TOLD. YOU. I HATE GO AND...TOUYA AKIRA!" He bellowed.

Everyone stared at him, astonished by his actions.

"Why..." Akari's voice trailed off as she looked at the torn apart book with wide eyes. Sai cried comically; devastated to see the book in tatters.

Hikaru then grew determined and turned to meet Kaga straight in the eyes. "Tell me why you hate Touya Akira!"

"Are you trying to order me around?" He snorted. "Don't tell me what to do, kid." Kaga then took a go stone from the container. "Hey, watch this carefully." He began to shuffle the stones between both of his hands at top speed; making it tough for a normal eye to keep up with it. Both of his hands stopped and he held them in front of him. "If you can tell me which hand has the go stone, I'll tell you anything." Kaga's expression turned scary. "But...if you get it wrong, I'll put my cigarette out on your hand!"

Tsutsui stood up, walking between the two of them. "Quit it, Kaga! Just leave!"

Akari looked back and forth between them, a little scared for Hikaru. _What if he gets it wrong? Huh, wait..._She gasped.

"Hikaru, don't do it! My sister played this trick on me before!" Akari warned. "The stone isn't in either one of his hands! He's probably hiding it in his sleeve!"

Hikaru blinked. "Eh?"

"If he is using a method like that...let's settle this with Go, Hikaru!" Sai said, whipping his fan open.

Kaga clicked his tongue and rolled the go stone out of his sleeve. "Way to ruin my fun, girl." He sighed. "If you hadn't spoken, they would have fallen for this old trick!" He cackled evilly. Hikaru was both embarrassed and angry; he was ready to punch the teenager.

"You beat Touya?! I bet you probably cheated like you just did now! Or Touya wasn't trying!" He accused, fuming. Tsutsui quickly grabbed a hold of him, restraining him from lashing out at Kaga. Akari stood back, worried and unsure of what to do. "I know! You ran away from Go and went to Shougi! Like a coward!"

Something in Kaga snapped. Hikaru's words had hit him right where it hurt the most. He glared at the younger boy and swatted Tsutsui away from him.

"Let him go." He said, moving over to sit down in front of the goban. He picked up the bowl with stones, set it down beside him, and leaned on to the table; his demeanor now serious. "If you're going to say that much then I'll show you my skill!" Kaga declared. "Let's play. If I lose, I'll apologize and whatever but if you lose, you're taking a dip in the freezing pool."

Hikaru, aggravated, instantly agreed. "Deal!" He sat down with a huff; his teeth clenched.

Akari was nervous for him. _This guy seems really tough...but Hikaru beat Touya-san before. He'll be alright...right?_

The two boys kept bickering as they played their respective stones; conjuring a very comical scene. During his move, Kaga started to reminisce about his childhood, specifically when his father forced him to play go.

_I really wanted to play Shougi...but the old man forced me to take a freaking go class! _He thought. His father would berate him for always losing to the child genius, Touya Akira. _I got fed up with his f*cking expectations. And when I declared my rivalry to Touya, he had the NERVE to say, 'Should I lose?' As if it were that easy! In the end, I actually ended up winning. That kid didn't even care about winning or losing. Heck, of course, he's probably bored to death sitting on his throne! _

Kaga snapped out of his thoughts and saw Hikaru play his next move. He started to feel a slight unease. _Hey...this kid is not too bad at Go.  
_After he played a few more moves, he realized that he was seriously troubled. _Hey, hey, this is no joke. We're practically even now! _

Sai was giddy with happiness. He smiled at Kaga's plays. It was clear that he thought the boy's hands were amusing.

Blinking her eyes, Akari moved her attention away from the board. Clearly, she was never going to understand what was going on. It was a miracle that she was able to solve a few tsumego problems. _I still have lots to work on. _Akari sighed. She realized what she just thought and frowned. Since when was she taking Go seriously? _I only started because Hikaru seemed to have an interest...I'm not serious becoming serious about this, am I?_

From the corner of her eye, Akari saw two familiar classmates. She swerved around and called out to them.

"Hey, Mimura and Sakamoto! Didn't know you guys were here." The two boys greeted her in return.

"Hey whatcha doing, Akari?" One of them replied.

"I'm watching Hikaru play go!"

Hikaru looked up at her, startled. When he glanced past her, he saw his classmates. Grimacing at the sight of them, he quickly turned back to the board and placed down his stone. _Geez, why did they have to show up now? They were making fun of me for playing Go in class...if they see me now..._

"Dude, Shindou's playing Go!" He turned to his friend and snorted.

"I would love to see that but I gotta catch my brother's play or else he's gonna kill me!"

"See ya!" Akari rolled her eyes. She turned back to Hikaru's game.

"Eh? Hikaru, that's the wrong spot!" Sai cried. The boy looked more closely at where he put his stone and panicked.

"Wait, wait! Let me take that move back!" He pleaded.

Kaga smirked evilly. "No way. Your fingers have already left the stone." He put his stone down, threatening Hikaru's cluster of stones.

Sai started to comically pound his fists on Hikaru, calling him, "baka" repeatedly. Akari stood there dumbfounded.

"Hikaru, you made a mistake?" She said. He looked at her annoyed.

"It's because you called out to them, idiot!" Akari scowled.

"You don't have to call me idiot! I was just saying hi, what's wrong with that?" She pouted.

Tsutsui frowned. "Stop fighting, Shindou-kun, Akari-chan!"

"We're still in the middle of a match." Kaga flipped his fan out and smirked at Hikaru. The boy glared back in response.

"Calm down, Hikaru. We can still make a comeback." Sai said. Hikaru looked up at him questioningly. "Just trust me. Be sure to place the stone where I tell you to."

He sat back down and followed Sai's commands. Soon enough, Kaga and Tsutsui's faces were turning pale with shock as they saw that he was rapidly catching up from his huge mistake.

_Who the heck is this guy?! _Kaga bit his lip as he continued to defend his territory.

Akari looked up to see their stunned facial expressions. She cocked her head in confusion. Then she turned back to see the board. White turned away from the raging battle in the corner to defend another cluster of stones. Akari blinked. _Huh…I can't really tell but…did Hikaru just secure that area? _

After a few more minutes, Akari decided that she just couldn't follow along with what was happening and decided to go get a few snacks to eat. When she returned to the go stand, they had just finished the game.

"Finally. Who won?" She asked, however, the answer was obvious when she saw Hikaru's slumped form over the goban.

"Ice cold pool…" He wailed, disdainfully. Akari gasped and turned to Kaga and Tsutsui.

"Wait a minute, you guys aren't-"Kaga cut her off by taking Tsutsui's uniform jacket and making Hikaru put it on.

"Heh, a loose fit." He commented. "Tsutsui, we've got our team."

"Eh?" Tsutsui was in a dishelved state from having his jacket forcefully taken off.

"I'm first chair, this brat is second, and you're third." Kaga pointed at each one.

"What?! Why am I third chair?!" Tsutsui exclaimed in protest.

"Fine, then you'll be second chair and he'll be third." He declared, nonchalantly.

"Wait, that's not the point! He's only in primary school, Kaga! What are we going to do if the tournament heads find out-"

"Tournament?! Are you serious?" Hikaru was in disbelief. He had just started to play Go, although he had the advantage of having Sai with him.

Kaga went up to Hikaru; the shorter boy shrinking back due to his height. He grabbed him by the collar like a yankee. "Oi, you were the one who lost so listen to what I say. It's better than an ice-cold pool, riiight?" Hikaru gulped. The elder boy turned to Tsutsui.

"Tsutsui, you don't have anyone else to sit in for third, do you?" He pointed out. "Be happy; at least you can have your club now."

Kaga and Tsutsui's voices faded into the background as Akari confronted Hikaru.

"Hikaru, you're participating in a tournament?" She asked.

He sighed. "Tch, this is really bad…"

"Are you going to be okay? I mean, can you even go into this tournament? You're not even Haze student."

"Well,_ that_ guy is forcing me to so I can't help it. It's not like anyone I know will be there to recognize me." Hikaru scratched his head, frowning. "Man…how did I get into this…?"

Akari couldn't help but giggle. She playfully punched him in the arm. "Good luck, Hikaru."

"Ah, right, Shindou-kun, the tournament is next Sunday at 10 A.M.!" Tsutsui said. "It's at Kaiou Jr. High school."

"Kaiou Jr High…" Akari mumbled and wondered where she heard the name before. "Oh! That school with the really good go club!"

"Yeah. They'll be our toughest opponents this year, but I know we can beat them." Kaga smirked. "Only the brat and I have to win."

"What about me? Are you doubting that I can't win?" Tsutsui felt hurt.

Kaga snorted in response. "Not with you carrying around that stupid book to every single match."

"H-hey! I feel more at ease with it in my hand. Besides, it's not like it's against the rules or anything." The boy adjusted his glasses.

"Can I come too? I can make bentos for you guys." Akari asked.

"Eh? Wait-"Hikaru tried to butt in but only to be cut off by the enthusiastic Kaga.

"Bentos, huh? Not bad, girl." He said, pleased with the mention of food. "Are you good at cooking?"

"It's not _girl_ but Fujisaki Akari!" She corrected with a smile. "But yes, I'm quite good if I might say so myself."

"She's not lying…" Hikaru muttered, acknowledging her skill.

"'Kay, Fujisaki! Include some onigiri!"

"Kaga! You can't demand something like that." Tsutsui turned to Akari. "Sorry about that. Thank you for helping us out, Akari-chan."

She shook her head. She really didn't mind because she was only accompanying Hikaru to the Go tournament. Might as well make herself useful there by providing lunches. Strangely enough, a small part of her was also drawn to the Go aspect of it. Akari couldn't describe it well but something stirred inside of her when she saw the children playing at the Go Institute the other day. It was quite fascinating to her and she wanted to see a similar scene again. _Will I someday develop a passion like them? _

* * *

"Akari, we're going over to your Grandma's house this Sunday!" Her mother called from downstairs. The teenage girl was now munching on Pocky and reading manga in her bedroom. She sat up, looking at the calendar hanging on her wall.

"No, mom, I have something to do that day!" She called back. Her mother's reply was slightly muffled but Akari could tell that she was confused.

"We haven't visited your Grandma in long time! She gives you money every New Year's and this is how you treat her?" Akari sighed and rolled her eyes. Her mother was going off on one of her rants again. "You're always going out these days; can't you cancel your plans with your friends on Sunday?"

"But it's not as simple as that," She went downstairs to properly talk her. "My friend is participating in Go tournament that day and I want to go there to support them. That's why I bought a lot of groceries; I was planning on making bentos for their team."

"Go tournament?" Her mother was getting used to hearing that term around in the house. "Speaking of which, you've been going to those Go lessons lately…it's strange that you're showing a sudden interest in it." Something popped into her head. "Oh! I've heard from Mitsuko that Hikaru-kun started to play Go recently. Is he the reason?" Her mother gave her a knowing look.

Akari groaned, but inwardly admitted it. "Sure, mom. I just want to go cheer him on." She said, honestly. "Besides, I'm his friend…it wouldn't hurt to have some knowledge about his interest." For some reason, saying it out loud pained her. _Just _'_his friend'…_

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you ended up marrying him. He's not a bad kid." She winked. Her daughter sputtered with surprise.

"M-mom! I'm only 12!"

"Ohoho, honey, time passes by real fast." Akari turned red with embarrassment and grumbled at her mother.

"Geez, mom."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, I really wanted to make this chapter longer but I think I stalled enough so I'm putting this out. Please bear with all the canon events of the series that I put in here; for those who have watched/read HnG, this is probably repetitive and boring but I'm still in the 'developing story' stage so I'm not really sure exactly where I'm going to go with this story. I know, I'm a terrible at this and it's only my second fanfic. xD

As always, thank you for the reviews, favorites, follows, etc! Feel free to post your opinions in a review or PM.


End file.
